To have lost interest in working after 20 years?!?

[brownmouse]

I've worked for 20+ years. Another 25 to go...!

I'm bored with it! I'n disappointed in my career and just not really INTERESTED in it anymore. And I didn't even VAGUELY achieve what I hadn't hoped. But I also don't want to retrain.

Nothing interests me work wise. I'm sure in my 20s and 30s I was full of passion and wanting to ACHIEVE SHIT. Now I just want to stay at home and vacuum and drink tea and read books and hum to
myself.

I have another 25 years left to work.... I can't work part-time.

AIBU?!? Does anyone else feel the same?

I went self employed at 33 after 12 years in corporate life. Then emigrated to a cheaper country so I could be sahm. The uk is way too expensive to downshift. I was ambitious in my 20s but saw the rest of my career as a prison sentence.

Interesting thread. I'm on the other side. Had a brill career in marketing til 30. Had 2 kids. Husband top earner with soul snatching company. Quit job after kids and am now 47 and having mid life crisis telling myself "I could've been someone but only have myself to blame".
Trust me, pushing the vacuum around and humming can get very dull!!!!

Went to Uni reunion last year. Lots of "so what are you up to now?" type questions. Left feeling like a right housewife, lumpen!!!!

I was in this situation. After working for many years I one day just thought, "yeah, nah" and gave up my secure (but boring and underpaid) job and set up my own business. It's slow and I haven't made much money yet, but I love it!

The world is your oyster; you don't have to work for someone else.

I felt the same as you Op, it hit me after i had worked for 35 years, just wasn’t interested any more. Being bossed about by young lads straight from business school wasn’t much fun either. Haven’t worked for 6 months and don’t miss it at all.

I've had a few short term menial jobs. Haven't started my career yet, don't even knwo what I want to do age 25.

Looks like I don't have much to look forward to if the working world as as bad as some seem to make.

this thread has made me realise how bloody lucky I am. I've been part time for nearly 20 years, since dc1 was born. I always imagined working full time gave you a sense of purpose and a feeling of satisfaction, but this thread shows me the reality. The grass isn't always greener. I know I made the right choice for my family, but I've always hankered for something else. Seems those working full time hanker for something else too!

It would be great if we could all work for ourselves, doing exactly what we want but this is a pipe dream for most of us. You need money behind you to even think of this.

Interesting thread, 20 years in and trying to pay off the mortgage abit quicker but not in an extreme way. Even when the mortgage does go living costs will still need an income. I don’t think my pension would cover it. I would be happy to work 3 days a week. I am bored on one hand feeling I could/ should do more- get a promotion, yet the hassle doesn’t seem worth it.

I was a SAHM for several years and really loved it and find it hard to understand when people say they were bored as we did so much! We didn't have any spare cash but it really worked for us as a family.

Now that DD is older I have started in a completely new field and enjoy it but I definitely work to live rather than live to work. We are enjoying the extra ££. My job is term time which makes it bearable as I can always look forward to the holidays.

Anyway, the point I was making is that it is possible to start in a new field even after years of not working, so maybe you should look around and see what else is out there.

I am wondering if the worse you feel
has as much to do with (lack of) choices as it does with the jobs themselves? If you’re in a two
income household then there is a lot more flexibility in terms of SAHP/part-time/retraining/side projects. If it’s a single income household then I think you feel the relentlessness a bit more acutely, because it’s all on you to get the bills paid and it’s the very fact that you HAVE to keep going that causes the stress, the constant worry of what would happen if you lost your job. Am I envious of my peers who at my age (late 40s) can afford to go part time because having been in a two income household for a long time, mean, e.g. small/no mortgage. You bet I am.

I am 63 have worked for 48 years and have just been promoted with a large pay rise, I love my job and am proud of the fact that I have achieved so much in my working life and despite leaving school at age 15 with no qualifications I have been a higher rate tax payer for over 20 years, maybe I will retire in 3 years time when I get to pension age but to be honest I don't really want to. My DH got bored after a year of retirement and went back to work in a totally different field, my own Dad worked for 70 years. But I do understand the difficulties of people with poor health or in a physically demanding job not wanting to go on working.

I enjoy my job mostly been at it for 10 years but reading these posts is a bit depressing as I doubt I can keep my enthusiasm up for another 30 years. It probably helps that I’m part time and have 2 small children at home. I hope the world is going to move on with more flexibility for everyone so that work can be less relentless for us all. It seems mad that in all the progress we’ve made we still think most people need to be doing 40 years of 9-5 and it’s a luxury to take time off for basics like childcare. Perhaps universal basic income would help people feel they had more freedom and options. It might take us all accepting a lower standard of living and not buying quite as much stuff to be able to do it though.

I worked for 27 years then ill health meant I had to retire at 48. Had also done part time work since 13 so could add on another 8 years. I did get a decent pension and a DH who earns rather a lot so money isn't an issue at all.

But I am restricted due to my illness so have some enforced pottering and being at home. Long stretches of time alone can be quite hard. I used to have periods of feeling exactly the same as the poster and I did actually love my job. Just because the grind of the commute and the headspace used up for everything was exhausting sometimes.

Problem is with not working when still youngish is all your friends are at work and so is my DH so all that time means a lot of time alone. Any friends that are SAHM and still have small dc have that as a commitment.I have actually made friends with three genuine pensioners who are all old enough to be my parents. They are brilliant and I am an age is just a number believer but it's hard sometimes. I suppose my experience is clouded by my illness.

been working for 34 years.
currently taking a break of 6-9 months afters saving the money to replace my monthly income for that period of time.
The only problem is that I don't want to go back.
I am currently 2.5 months into being a lady of leisure and loving it!

In May 2014 I took voluntary redundancy from my public sector job to go self employed and start a business with my friend. When we first met (in 1995) we discussed this very business - and we decided to go for it.
It's been a steep learning curve - lots of fun but sometimes terrifying!
This year I am finally earning the same as I did in the public sector.
My DH got made redundant when I was pregnant with DS. We were just about to buy a house. We've never been in a position to buy a house since. I used to get very upset about that.
The great thing about having nothing is that you have nothing to lose - we were survivingon very little anyway.
I love what I do and I never ever want to be tied to working for 'the man' ever again. I loved my public sector job, but I was bullied when I went back after maternity leave, and even though the bully left I lost my confidence. In a few years time we'll be employing people. It feels great that we'll be able to give opportunities to people in the future to do what they love too.

So the point of my post is - that you don't have to feel trapped. You can get out.

Lots of us do.

Yes. 35 years of this and I've had enough. Am I really still going to be standing on this platform at 7am, struggling through the crowds, and doing it all again at 6pm every day when I'm 67? I want out. Sadly my pension tells me that I'm being a princess fairy on a rainbow unicorn.

I was bored of working after a year. Counting down the years to retirement - about 35 to go! YANBU.

I feel it. I'm 44 so another 23 years to go.

In fact as I'm about to pop into the supermarket to use their loo before a home visit appointment I'm going to take the opportunity to get a lottery ticket!!

I don't hate what I do but I'd so prefer to be at home drinking coffee and writing my memoirs!

Every time I think I might retrain I decide I don't want the debt so don't bother. Argh.

There is a really interesting series on at the moment Channel 4 at 4pm everyday. It's been on for a few weeks so could be near the end of the series. Maybe possible to view past episodes on catch up. I have taped the whole series. It's called A New Life in the Sun.
Basically it's people who feel like all the posters on this thread and want a way to escape the trap of a relentless, boring work life and expensive UK living. It shows some real success stories. All living in France and or Spain. It can be possible to get out of this rut but it takes an open mind and a willingness to think outside the normal box and take some big risks. Life is very short.

Thank you OP I though it was just me. Feels good to not be alone.

Yes!! I’m bored and not interested and procrastinate all of the time. But I also love the people I work with, the company and most of the job - so I feel that’s worse!
I do work part time and am thinking I should go back full time next year so I get more time at work to achieve something rather than coming and going all of the time.
Can’t see how I can continue for another 25 years though!

It's depressing seeing so many people who are simply bored by work or see pottering as an ambition to achieve at middle age.
I was just short of 50 when I restarted a whole new career and had retrained by 55 for something I could do self employed.
However at over 60 I like the day job. The least motivated person in my team is in his mid thirties and quite frankly he sounds like some of the posters on this thread.

I'm nearly 50 and I have my own business, the work is fairly interesting and I earn okay but I also feel the same, I think because there's nothing I really want to achieve any more that's motivating me, I'm just doing the work. I'm a lone parent and have started to get some health problems, and both of those things stop me wanting to expand, which would otherwise be an option. I've had very little maintenance from XP, so I've struggled to pay into my pension (and get no company contribution).

I thought a lot about changing career but came to the conclusion there was nothing I wanted to do enough to be committed to the work it would require (and I couldn't afford to drop down in salary). I did start a Master's in a related field but had to give it up when DD was having problems, which probably didn't help.

On the other hand I have had to consider whether health issues might stop me working so I am also grateful I still can.

I love my job. I’ve only been doing it for a few years though (changed careers aged 40).

yeah. and I haven't worked that long. (19 years)
We are about to take out a 22 year mortgage (after paying off 12 years on our current one) because we're buying a new house.
Both of us are a bit, bloody hell, we already hate working, that's a looooong time to commit to.
Luckily I have a hobby, which I love, and from which i can earn a bit here and there. This keeps me going!

Yes me too. I’m done, want to get off the treadmill! I’m lucky in that I don’t work full time, but I still feel bored and that I just want to be home. I have been a SAHM when the children were tiny, and loved it. But a position came up that was too good to turn down, then extra days were added and here I am. The children are now older and more costly and we wouldn’t cope without my wage. Changing roles wouldn’t help, I honestly and truly just want to SAH. I’m very envious of the mums at school who lunch, do coffee, go to the gym etc whist the children are at school, I can never join them as I work school hours....oh well that’s my moan for the day, back to work!!